On 15^th March, our Year 12 A-Level art students attended the ARTiculation regional finals at the Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art. Our own, internal heat took place on 9^th February, judged by Mrs Eggleston. All students delivered a 10 minute presentation on an art work, artefact or piece of architecture of their choice. We were very impressed with the standard, and it was a difficult decision for Mrs Eggleston to make, but first, second and third positions were awarded to Hannah Sutton, Niall Haigh and Tom Bramley.

The ARTiculation Prize is the Roche Court Educational Trust’s annual national arts public speaking competition for young people aged between 16 and 19. The competition was initially established as a means of showcasing how the visual arts can be interpreted and shared with a wide audience. Since its inception, the ARTiculation prize has become increasingly recognised and respected for the role it plays, not only in art history education, but in the art of public speaking itself.

Niall and Hannah both delivered excellent presentations at the Regional final. The adjudicator, Irene Aristizabal, stated how fantastic it was to hear of Niall’s connections to the Angel of the North, and thanked him for taking the audience from local histories to the universal identities of the North. She congratulated Niall for sharing how the sculpture had been appropriated and used for different interventions.

Irene Aristizabal praised Hannah for drawing those connections between science and art and for engaging the audience from the very beginning. She congratulated Hannah for questioning how we look at the work and how we look at the world in general, describing her presentation as ‘calm and clearly delivered’.

Our students faced some strong competition from Ampleforth College, Jesmond Park Academy, Laing ART Gallery, Manchester High School for Girls, Newcastle Sixth Form College and St Peter’s York.

We were delighted when Irene Aristizabal announced Hannah Sutton as the overall winner of the Regional Final. The whole school supported Hannah as she took the presentation down to the Grand Final at the National Gallery on Wednesday 23^rd March.

Hannah delivered her presentation with confidence and presence at the ARTiculation competition Final.